This book provides new insights into the universality of biological systems in animal reproduction and development by a comparative study of a variety of mechanisms in animals ranging from basal invertebrates to vertebrates, including mammals. Animals accomplish genetic diversity through meiosis and fertilization, and during embryogenesis animals must produce specialized cell types, including germ cells, in accordance with their individual body plan. This series of phenomena is essential to the continuity of life in the animal kingdom, and animals show various reproductive and developmental strategies. This volume, comprising four parts, reviews animal kingdom diversity, including reproductive strategies and germ cell differentiation mechanisms (Part 1), sex determination and differentiation (Part2), the mechanisms of fertilization (Part 3), and body axis formation (Part 4). Readers will find descriptions of the reproduction or development of 180 species, 13 phyla, 35 classes, 74 orders, 117 families, and 151 genera in this book. Of particular interest is the diversity of molecules and mechanisms used to achieve the same biological purpose in different animals. Undergraduates, graduate students, and professional scientists who want a deeper understanding of animal reproductive and developmental mechanisms will find this book to be of great value.

Completely revised and updated, Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology: A Practical Approach, Second Edition draws together valuable information typically scattered throughout the literature, plus some not previously published, into one complete resource. In addition to the traditional aspects of developmental toxicity testing, the book covers e

Recent work in quantitative biology has shown theoretically why Fisher's Fundamental Theorem of Natural Selection does not preclude genetic influences on fertility, sexuality, and related processes. Genetic Influences on Human Fertility and Sexuality takes the next step, and presents a number of successful empirical searches for such genetic influence on a broad range of processes, such as puberty, marriage, sexual behavior, and twinning. Employing a broad range of methodological approaches, including molecular and behavioral genetics, this book weaves a new theoretical framework that shows how genes can help relate fertility planning to fertility outcome, and how puberty, sexuality, marriage, and reproduction can be conceptually linked through the genes that contribute to individual differences in the human process.

A comprehensive review of contemporary antisense oligonucleotides drugs and therapeutic principles, methods, applications, and research Oligonucleotide-based drugs, in particular antisense oligonucleotides, are part of a growing number of pharmaceutical and biotech programs progressing to treat a wide range of indications including cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, neuromuscular, and respiratory diseases, as well as other severe and rare diseases. Reviewing fundamentals and offering guidelines for drug discovery and development, this book is a practical guide covering all key aspects of this increasingly popular area of pharmacology and biotech and pharma research, from the basic science behind antisense oligonucleotides chemistry, toxicology, manufacturing, to safety assessments, the design of therapeutic protocols, to clinical experience. Antisense oligonucleotides are single strands of DNA or RNA that are complementary to a chosen sequence. While the idea of antisense oligonucleotides to target single genes dates back to the 1970's, most advances have taken place in recent years. The increasing number of antisense oligonucleotide programs in clinical development is a testament to the progress and understanding of pharmacologic, pharmacokinetic, and toxicologic properties as well as improvement in the delivery of oligonucleotides. This valuable book reviews the fundamentals of oligonucleotides, with a focus on antisense oligonucleotide drugs, and reports on the latest research underway worldwide. • Helps readers understand antisense molecules and their targets, biochemistry, and toxicity mechanisms, roles in disease, and applications for safety and therapeutics • Examines the principles, practices, and tools for scientists in both pre-clinical and clinical settings and how to apply them to antisense oligonucleotides • Provides guidelines for scientists in drug design and discovery to help improve efficiency, assessment, and the success of drug candidates • Includes interdisciplinary perspectives, from academia, industry, regulatory and from the fields of pharmacology, toxicology, biology, and medicinal chemistry Oligonucleotide-Based Drugs and Therapeutics belongs on the reference shelves of chemists, pharmaceutical scientists, chemical biologists, toxicologists and other scientists working in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. It will also be a valuable resource for regulatory specialists and safety assessment professionals and an important reference for academic researchers and post-graduates interested in therapeutics, antisense therapy, and oligonucleotides.

This book places the wealth of data that have been collected on plants into the unifying framework of game theory.

This book presents the first unified conceptual and statistical framework for understanding the evolution of reproductive strategies. Using the concept of the opportunity for sexual selection, the authors illustrate how and why sexual selection, though restricted to one sex and opposed in the other, is one of the strongest and fastest of all evolutionary forces. They offer a statistical framework for studying mating system evolution and apply it to patterns of alternative mating strategies. In doing so, they provide a method for quantifying how the strength of sexual selection is affected by the ecological and life history processes that influence females' spatial and temporal clustering and reproductive schedules. Directly challenging verbal evolutionary models that attempt to explain reproductive behavior without quantitative reference to evolutionary genetics, this book establishes a more solid theoretical foundation for the field. Among the weaknesses the authors find in the existing data is the apparent ubiquity of condition-dependent mating tactics. They identify factors likely to contribute to the evolution of alternative mating strategies--which they argue are more common than generally believed--and illustrate how to measure the strength of selection acting on them. Lastly, they offer predictions on the covariation of mating systems and strategies, consider the underlying developmental biology behind male polyphenism, and propose directions for future research. Informed by genetics, this is a comprehensive and rigorous new approach to explaining mating systems and strategies that will influence a wide swath of evolutionary biology.